Monster Within
by Kiaz
Summary: Kiya has been living on the streets for five years with a heavy secret to hide. She is an EVO. Her life has already taken one dramatic bend, but now with the involvement of Providence, it will take another. She must constantly fight the battle within her. A battle between her sanity and the monster within. But which one will win?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The streets are busy and crowded in the bustling city, flowing with the constant movement of every day life. The noise that is a blur of thousands of conversations mixes with that of the busy traffic. The distinct sound of a crying baby, the honk of a horn, a barking dog, a speeding car, police sirens. All the mark of the busy, built-up city.

I pull the hood of my jumper tighter around my face as the crowd around me thickens. I make sure to turn my face away from a young child who was peering at me with interest.

As long as nobody sees my eyes I can keep my cool. My luminous green slit eyes flicker nervously along the pavement, careful not to look at anyone. If I can see their eyes, that means they can see mine.

If I had any money, I would buy some shades, but I guess that's what living on the street gives ya. Nothing.

I did have some sunglasses a while back, but they were broken by a gang of teenage boys who saw me as vulnerable. The moment they saw my eyes they legged it. And I was left with nothing to cover the only evidence of the EVO side to me. Sort of.

I'm trying to get to the alley way a few meters away. I've been moving through the back streets for the past few weeks, but I've been forced out of my hiding thanks to a very high, spikey fence, and a dead end. I hate dead ends. And high spikey fences. Or just spikey fences in general. Or just spikey _things_ in general. Unless of course their something I can use.

I'm a few feet away now, and I can feel myself relax. Bad move Kiya, bad move. Suddenly my shoulder is shoved by a hurried business man as he runs to get to his job. I'm sent spinning into the wall, my back hitting it hard and knocking the breath out of me.

I hear a sharp gasp and all the sound around me vanishes. Have I been knocked out? No, I'm still fully conscious, my back just hurts. I look around me to the many faces staring at me, some with shock, others with fear. Why are they staring.

Ah. I can see their eyes. They can see mine.

There's a single piercing scream from a young mother at the front of the crowd, clutching her child protectively, and then suddenly there's chaos and panic everywhere.

And I'm panicking too. I struggle to keep my breathing even, but I can feel my body morphing anyway. I try to fight it, to keep the creature inside of me, but I have to yell out in pain as my panic rises and the creature wants out. The more I resist, the more it hurts.

And I'm just going to change into it anyway, so before I know it there's a strained yowl exiting my fanged mouth. The fur covering my feline-monstrous body is bristling.

Dammit.

There's even more panic and screaming, so I turn and flee down that alley way I was heading towards before. Hopefully I can manage to disappear. Before Providence comes.

I prowl to the very back of the alley and lean against the dead end with a frustrated snarl. I begin to calm my breathing, taking myself through the calming exercises. Before long I can curl my fingers in front of my face and stand up again. I turn around and look back towards the street where most of the panic has disappeared. Infact, most of the people have disappeared. And that's because Providence has moved in.

"Damn" I mutter to myself "they're fast."

The soldiers seemed to have set up a perimeter around the street, and it becomes eerily quite. Then I hear a voice. "Okay, it's clear."

Three figures emerge at the entrance of the ally. One is tall and slim, with the kind of suite that says 'I mean business' and some shades which look like they could have prevented my whole situation. The one in the middle is a rebellious looking teenage boy with goggles above his eyes. The last one is a chimp wearing a fez and clothes.

The sight was so odd that it took me a moment to realise that I needed to hide. I'm lucky it's dark back here, otherwise they would already have seen me. I duck behind an old tin trash can, and a pile of bin bags. It stank, but maybe that would deter them. Besides, I'm used to it.

"So what are we up against?" The kid asks "Big ugly looking EVO? Or maybe a slimy one?"

"I hate the slimy ones" the monkey says in a scratchy voice. The monkey says. The monkey can talk. Wow.

"We're not sure." The one in the very green suite says in the most serious voice ever. "Some witnesses say it was mostly human, others say it was mostly a large cat, others insist it was a monster. Holiday thinks it could be a shape shifting EVO."

All the while they're talking they're walking closer and closer to my hiding spot.

"What, like that freaky little girl that tried to _eat_ me in breache's little doll house?"

I suddenly have to find the willpower to stop myself from laughing at the odd statement. Well then.

"Yes, like that." The guy replies. How can he stay so serious?

Well, I don't exactly try to eat people.

"You sure it went down here?" The monkey asks.

"Certain." The mans voice confirms.

"What'd it shape shift into? A fly?" The boy asks jokingly.

They're close. Very close. I swear they're gonna hear my heart beating against my chest. I struggle to keep calm, attempting to zone out in order to restore my heart to a slower pace. It sort of works and I no longer have to fight the urge to morph.

The dangerously near footsteps suddenly stop. I'm not sure wether this should make me relieved or terrified.

I hear a frustrated groan. "It got away." The kid moans.

I let out a soft relieved sigh. Another bad move Kiya, another bad move.

Suddenly the trash cans are gone. Swept aside with a crash by a pair of _huge orange robot hands._ I look into the eyes of the boy they belong to. He looks as shocked as I feel. Why does he look shocked?

That question brings me back down to reality and in an instant my skin stretches and rips away to reveal spiked, rough fur. My mouth becomes filled with fangs alike that of a viper's. Lots of viper's fangs.

These fangs shoot forward threateningly as I let out a loud hiss. I shrink back against the wall, lashing my tattered tail in fear and aggression.

In the shock, I didn't have time to even think about my calming techniques. I go on total defence.

The man whips out two blades and the monkey grabs a pair of red guns from his back, exclaiming 'Woah!"

I let out another hiss, laced with warning, extending my two largest fangs at the front of my mouth out like a snake would.

"Careful." The man warns. "We don't know if it's venomous."

I give a low snarl. Indeed my fangs are venomous, but only my smaller ones are deadly, and can retract back into my mouth if I don't want to use 'em. The large ones at the front would only knock someone unconscious.

"Can't exactly poison big metal hands, Six" the boy says.

Six? What sort of a name is that? Isn't that a number?

But before I can process this, those 'big metal hands' come crashing down on me, smashing me to the ground. Pain laces through my back and I let out a strained yowl. As I feel the weight lift off me again I carefully get back onto my feet, wincing at the soreness of my body.

Well that's done it. My glaring green eyes lock onto the boy and I let out an angry roar, charging forward with my fangs extended. He brings a hand up to smash me again, but I leap into the air at the last minute, just missing his weaponised limbs and landing with my full weight on his shoulders. My momentum, doubled with my powerful body, sends him crashing to the ground, back first.

I have him pinned to the ground with my fangs centimetres from his face. I let out a deadly snarl as I stare him straight in his shocked eyes. But I don't bite.

I'm not a monster. I refuse to be a monster.

But before I can use this to my advantage and run out of the alley, there's a sharp pain in my side as I'm thrown off my hostage, and the wind's knocked out of me. A few stinging bullets are fired into me and I know it's the monkey. I take in a gasping breath and look up.

It's the man, Six. He stands over me with a blade poised to strike. I take one look at the deadly looking sword and then lunge forward before he can stop me.

I sink my front fangs into his side, the smaller ones safely tucked away.

At the exact same time I feel something piercing my side.

Both of us stumble back. I look around at my flank to find the sword sticking into my side. I shudder and it tumbles out, meaning that thankfully it wasn't too deep. In this form I will happily live.

"Six!" The yell takes me by surprise and I whip around to find the boy kneeling besides Six's unconscious body. Of course, he doesn't know that he's just unconscious.

He looks up at me with fury in his eyes. Well damn. He equips himself with giant orange hands yet again and then smashes me against the wall, holding me by the neck. I yowl in pain and hiss, but I soon find that my airways become blocked. He's squeezing tighter and tighter around my neck with huge metal fingers.

I begin to wheeze, attempting, and failing, to get air into my lungs. I can faintly hear the guy yelling stuff at me but I can hardly hear. I begin trying to take deep breathes, attempting to calm myself down, when everything in me screams against it.

In the end I give up on the calming methods and just start fighting against the panic and the creature form. I know that it is probably hurts, but I can hardly feel it as I fight for my survival. Eventually I struggle into my more human form, and as I have small gap where my neck has shrank I take in a shuddering breath and then try to communicate.

"He's... Not dead. Would never... Just... Knocked out..." I wheeze. Slowly the grasp around my neck loosens. Then suddenly all pressure from my neck is gone and I slump against the wall, with no energy left to even attempt to stand up.

"I would never... I would never." I mutter quietly to myself as I take in shuddering breaths. The world around me begins to darken, and I still struggle to get air into me.

There's shuffling and yelling, but it's all become muffled and quite. I feel like I'm being lifted, and I glimpse allot of white figures around me before I black out completely. Of course not without snagging one last thought.

 _Yet another bad move._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"-anoid form are intense green eyes, slit pupils, prominent black screla, and each eye as a whole is feline shaped." I hear a women's voice slither into my consciousness. Am I dreaming? No. This is real.

I can't find the willpower to open my eyes. My body feels like stone. The weight of one finger feels immense.

"The features of the creature form are a long feline-like body, venomous fangs, flat head, curved and flexible spine, and the same eyes." The women's voice continuos.

What's that their saying? Their describing something. Some thought breaks through my thick skull. That's describing me.

Then another voice trickles through my bleary brain. It sounds vaguely familiar. "I was going to kill her." The young voice says quietly.

What's he on about? Kill who? Yet another thing breaks through my skull, or rather, this time it smashes through. Kill me. That's the guy who was going to kill me.

"That's not your fault." The women's voice says softly "You thought she had killed Six. Anyone else in your position would've done the same, maybe more."

There was silence in response.

My consciousness begins to really stream back, and now I can feel the soreness. Everywhere. I let out a strained groan and try to lift an arm to my head. Yet I find that my arm won't lift. I feel the strap restraining me. I frown and try to move my other arm only to find the same.

"She's waking up." The women's voice now louder and alert.

I can't move. I frown harder as I try to open my eyes. A slit of light pierces through the blackness, intense and blinding. I strain against my restraints, my heart starting to beat a bit faster.

I can't move. I start to panic. I can't move. I fight harder against the restraints, but they don't budge. I can't move. I can feel the creature inside of me fighting to get out, so that it can fight me out of these restraints.

I squint through the piercing light and I attempt to focus on something, anything. Everything around me is white. I swivel my head and find blurry shapes moving around me. My eyes strain to get used to the light.

Suddenly it's like the lens has focused on a camera. I'm in a white room, filled with computers and allot of confusing equipment. Inside of this room is a women in a lab coat, along with the boy that nearly killed me.

Of coarse this does nothing to calm me. My heart rate quickens. I yell out in pain as the creature within me fights to get out. My body shifts and morphs like clay as I fight the losing battle. I flicker between my human form and somewhere between that and the creature.

"Her stress levels are high and increasing rapidly."

My skin rips and tears. I know that the more I resist it the more it hurts, but to give in feels like defeat. I cannot lose myself. I must remain calm. I must remember how to remain calm.

But it's not working. _Get ahold of yourself Kiya_. I struggle to take the deep breaths necessary to control my emotions. The questions flying through my head don't help either.

Why am I in a lab? Are they going to _experiment_ on me? My heart beats faster in fear. Why is that kid here? Is he going to try and kill me again? Yet again my heart rate goes up a notch. I yell out in pain.

"Doc? Is there anything you can do? Put her back to sleep?"

"We don't know what the sedatives could do to her in this state."

"Well they've never killed anyone before!" I hear the boy yell "give me that." He says decisively.

Give him what? I flick my eyes over to them, and the boy's grabbed a syringe.

Oh hell no.

Suddenly I stop the fight within me and I release the creature. The sudden change in form snaps the restraints and I shoot up into a standing position only to come face to face with some dark amber eyes.

I freeze, unable to remove my eyes from his. The animalistic instinct inside my head tells me that any sudden movement could provoke the predator. Don't lose eye contact.

I see the confrontation in his eyes, but beneath that I see fear. The creature tells me that this makes him weak, that I should use that, attack him. But I am no monster. That voice is nothing more than a whisper floating around the back of my head, with no conviction and no real shape.

"Ur... Doc?" The boy directs with caution to the women behind him, but he doesn't break the eye contact.

"No sudden movements." She says softly. "Let her calm down."

That makes something click. I need to calm down. Only now do I realise my erratic heart beat and my fast breathing. I take a deep, long breath and hold it for a second, gathering my thoughts. I then let the breath out, along with any thoughts that do not relate to being calm.

My mind clears, the instinctual flight or fight impulses are now gone and my heart rate levels out. My gaze softens, and I think the boy sees it, as he relaxes his muscles, breathing out a breath he must have been holding.

I hesitate for a moment. Should I turn back into my human form? The whisper of the creature in the back of my mind says it would be weakening myself, but it doesn't make itself heard as I morph back into myself.

I am sitting on the edge of the table I was strapped to, cautious eyes flicking between the boy and the 'Doctor'.

Everyone is silent for a moment, and I can feel the tense atmosphere pressing down on me. I decide to break the moment. "Where am I?"

The women replies. "Providence."

Well, thanks for the descriptive answer. "Who are you?" I ask cautiously.

"My name is Dr. Holiday. I'm a scientist here at providence, and this is Rex." She says gesturing to the boy-that-nearly-killed-me guy.

"Providence's 'secret weapon'." He explains with distaste.

I lean back on my arms. Well, they answered my questions, so I can't say they're uncooperative. But... "Why am I here?"

"You're an EVO, what'd you think?" Rex asks rhetorically. He doesn't say it with any sensitivity, and has just furthered my dislike of him.

I glare at him, but then remind myself to stay calm, and take a deep breath.

"You're here so that we can offer you a new life." Dr. Holiday explains with a bit more softness.

I smirk. "A new life?" I scoff. "Like the kid said, I'm an EVO. What's providence's famous motto? Cure, contain, kill? I'm not being offered a new life, I'm being offered a prison cell." I say with a deliberate voice, but then it turns quiet. "And the alternative is a rather... Hard... Option." I growl.

There's silence for a moment. But then the Doctor seems to regain herself. "It's not like that." She says, stepping closer to me.

I jump down from the table and land firmly on both feet. "Oh really?" I ask sarcastically as I walk over to a desk with very technical looking equipment. I pick up the simplest thing on the table, a small, sleek cylinder. "What would you have to do if I refused your 'new life'?" I ask, turning around and leaning against the desk, twiddling the cylinder in my fingers.

I fix the women in my intense gaze. I know that my feline-esque eyes can be disturbing, and when under their luminous green glow they could also be intimidating.

Like now, Dr. Holiday seemed to be at a loss for words. She won't lie to me, that's the kind of effect my eyes have on people. "Exactly." I confirm looking away and poking at some other stuff on the desk.

The instinctual side of me whispers something to me. Usually I would ignore it, but I knew this kind of whisper. It's more like a murmur, it's more honest. _He wants to say something._

I notice the silence coming from the corner of the room. I turn to look directly at the guy, Rex, and I can see instantly the words he wants to say are right their behind his eyes. I pause for a moment, holding my gaze with his. He doesn't seem like the type to hold back what he wants to say.

 _He doesn't like you, he doesn't want admit anything good to you_. It was the whisper, not the murmur, the whisper. But I knew it was true. He doesn't like me, and I don't like him.

But I was going to be the reasonable one, I always make an effort to be the reasonable one. "You want to say something." I state, absent mindedly balancing the cylinder on my finger.

He paused, with a mildly shocked expression on his face. He obviously hadn't expected me to know. But he quickly covered it up with a frown and seemed to be deciding wether to say anything.

"You don't strike me as one to hold his tongue. Providence finally got to you, eh?" I ask. It was meant to provoke him. He was obviously rebellious, I doubt he really likes all of Providence's rules.

And it works. He defiantly crosses his arms. "No. I-"

"He never holds his tongue." Says a familiar scratchy voice, cutting Rex off. I turn to see a monkey enter the room. "Causes more trouble than he fixes." He says with a smirk.

"I fix way more trouble than I cause!" Rex retaliates.

"Ha! Try telling that to White." The monkey laughs

I smile. This seems more natural. "I can believe that, he looks like far more trouble than he's worth. Why do you keep him here again?" I chuckle.

"Because I cure EVO's!" He says, desperately trying to fight the losing battle.

"Because Providence is too kind to throw him out on his ass." The monkey grins.

Rex brings up a finger, opening his mouth as if to say something. But then failing to think anything up in his defence, just turns away, crossing his arms and angrily pouting.

"Rex is very important to us." Dr. Holiday imputs. "He's a scientific EVO anomaly. His ability to cure EVO's is remarkable."

"And the only reason White puts up with him." The monkey adds.

I smile lightly in soft amusement, but a question lingers just behind my closed lips. I look at Rex curiously. I've heard of his curing abilities, and I've always wondered... "Could you... " I hesitate. I don't want to ask a favour of the guy who nearly killed me. "Never mind." I say, shaking the hopeful feeling inside of me and turning away.

"I could cure you." Says a quiet voice from behind me. For a moment I think that I've finally started hearing things, but when I turn back around to face him, I know I heard correctly. His eyes are hesitant but direct.

My breath hitches in my throat. Be cured? Become normal again? Live a normal life again? For a moment I forget to breath, the possibility of it all overwhelming me.

"No." A women's voice whispers softly. It's the Doctors. "No you can't Rex."

I take in the air my lungs so desperately needs, and then turn to look at Dr. Holiday. Her face looked so filled with emotion that for a moment I want to go to her and comfort her.

"What do you mean?" Rex asks in disbelief, staring at the stricken women.

"It means, Rex, that she's incurable. I took a sample." She whispers.

Rex looks at me with shock. But I make sure I don't look troubled. I don't need sympathy from anyone. "It's fine. I can live fine." I say, yet even I can hear the lack of conviction.

I sigh, and bring my hand upwards, gently touching my forehead with my fingers. "I'm fine, honestly." I say with more confidence. I then stuff my hands into the pockets of my hoodie. "I've lived like this for long enough, you think it's going to bother me any more?"

There's a hesitant silence for a moment before Dr. Holiday speaks up. "Well, I would really like to ask you some questions about your abilities."

"And, let me guess, take some samples?" I ask with the faintest trace of a smile on my lips.

"Well, um, yes." She says with an apologetic smile.

I give a defeated sigh. "Well I don't really have much of a choice. Whatever, sure!" I say exasperated, throwing a hand up into the air.

The Doctor gives a genuine smile. "Brilliant! I just have to hook you up to a few things so I can monitor your stress levels."

I raise an eyebrow, but I say nothing more.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry I haven't really been saying much guys, this is my first ever fan fiction so I'm a bit new to all of this. Not to mention nervous x3**

 **I was going to publish this chapter on the weekend, but I only just found out that my college has Internet...**

 **I really hope your enjoying this so far, I've really enjoyed writing it.**

 **Also, what do you think about the chapter lengths, are they too short?**

 **Chapter 3**

 _Tap, tap, tap, tap._

My finger drums against the arm of the white chair. White like everything else in this claustrophobic place. God I hate all this white. I feel like I'm sitting inside of a white box.

And it's a shame, because white is usually such a nice colour. The colour of light, and usually has such a peaceful feel about it. But this place tarnishes that peace and beauty.

 _Tap, tap, tap, tap._

My finger begins to speed up. Dr. Holiday has gone to get God knows what so that she can attach wires and needles and whatever else into me, so that she can 'monitor my stress levels'.

Like hell that's happening.

 _Tap_.

I sit in silence for a moment, before jerking out of the chair with a flourish of energy, and I take long strides to cross the room. I raise my hand to gently touch the smooth, clean, _white_ surface.

I look up at the thin grate above me. It's the ventilation. Of course its too small for any human to fit through, and probably too small for most EVO's. But I'm not most EVO's.

Skin rips and tears as I morph into the creature. I may still be large in this form, but it's mostly because of my long legs, long body, and long fur. If I squeeze, I might just be able to fit.

Ahh how cliché, escaping through the ventilation.

I leap up against the wall. Extending a long front leg, hooking a claw through the grating. I give it a yank as I fall back down to the floor, tearing it out of the wall, and flinging it to the side with a loud snarl. It clatters across the floor.

Right, I've got to move fast. They probably heard that.

I leap up onto the wall again, swinging my leg up again, to hook my claws inside of the vent, and then pulling myself upwards. My other front leg swings up, and mirrors it's pair. I strain to pull with my front legs, while my back legs push against the wall.

My head slips inside easily. I have to squeeze my shoulders in, and I can feel them being crushed against either side of my chest. I slip the rest of my body through with some struggle just as I hear the door bang open.

"She got out!" I hear the Doctor call.

Ha! You're not sticking needles in me! I slip further into the vent, until I come to a junction, where it connects to a larger pipe. I breath a sigh of relief as I slip into the much more comfortable space.

There's some more yells from the small room that is now behind me and I know that freedom is a long way away yet.

I can move allot easier now and I trot fluidly through the shaft. A breath of fresh air flows past my face, and I turn to face the soft breeze. The faint beckoning of freedom comes from an even larger shaft, where I find I can stand to my full height.

I start to run against the steady stream of air, which gradually strengthens into a strong breeze. I begin to hear the sound of howling wind, and the previously soft stroke of fresh air has strengthened into a battering torrent.

I look up and see the exit, and as I near the faint light I can see a window to the outside world.

There's sand whipping through torrents of air, a full blown sandstorm.

Damn.

I let out a frustrated snarl and pause for a moment. What do I do? I can't go out there, it would be suicide. But I can't go back to be caught again and be experimented on with all their needles and wires. A shiver goes down my spine as the thought runs through me.

I could go back, but only temporarily. Hide somewhere until the storm lets out. It could work.

I take one last longing look at the outside world, and then slink back into the darkness of the ventilation system.

My eyes adjust quickly to the blackness, like glowing emeralds floating through an ebony sea, and I automatically start to prowl. I must be careful now, be on high alert. Any sound could alert them to my position, and my presence within the compound. With any luck they'll think I've risked going out into the sand storm.

I see light up ahead where the vent leads to a room. I glance inside and see a room of extensive equipment. Some of it looks downright deadly. Yet again a shiver goes down my spine as I think about needles and torture devices, scientists dressed in white experimenting with my barely conscious body.

I quickly skip over it and continue deeper into the complex. I can't start thinking about those sort of things. Bad Kiya.

I pass many vents, showing small windows into providence's world. People in white suits bending over computers, scientists developing strange coloured liquids, providence grunts playing cards, cages filled with small EVO's, men and women having heated discussions around large tables. There isn't much there to unease the nervousness grating in my stomach.

Then I come to a room that's different to the others. I hardly have to see the light that indicates where a vent is to be able to feel that the atmosphere about this room is different to the others. More comfortable and relaxed.

It's been a long time since I've experienced the sixth sense of the creature side to me. The ability to feel the energy of a place or person. I've been so consumed with fear or anger recently that I have blocked the subtle senses during my predicament. I didn't even think about it.

But I have grown more confident prowling through the ventilation and learning about my enemy, and I have unblocked this useful ability. And I can feel, as I grow closer to the room, that this is a very different place to the rest of providence.

As I near the vent I begin to move with a slow purposefulness. I peer through the grate and into the room. It has a small bed indented into the side of the room, and a hammock that hangs nearby. Apart from that, the room is pretty much empty.

The energy of the room is much more chilled than any other room I have passed, which have all been sharp edges and cynical. I lay down next to the vent as I enjoy the calming effect it has on me. What an odd room. Who in providence has an aura alike this? Not any I could conjure up in my head.

I freeze as I hear muffled voices outside of the room and then the click of the door being opened. Suddenly the room is washed with a lively and energetic atmosphere.

"Ahh just get some sleep. We'll get 'er in the morning." Says a familiar scratchy voice. It's that monkey.

The monkey walks in with a stretch and a yawn before swinging himself into the hammock. What time is it? How long have I been prowling the ventilation shafts?

"Yeah, I guess." My luminous eyes widen. It's him! Rex. The guy that tried to kill me. He stands just below the vent, where I'm peering in.

 _He tried to kill you..._ The voice whispers in the back of my mind. Usually I would just ignore it, but something about it appeals to the fear and anger rolling about my head. _He tried to kill you, he might try to kill you again._ It strengthens to a hiss, sizzling at the back of my brain, slowly crawling forward. _This is your chance to get him before he gets you._

I glare down at the top of his head, fantasising the idea of lunging down from the vent and finishing the job.

But I fantasise, and nothing more. I push the hiss back to where it belongs, the deeper depths of my brain.

"Where'dya think she went?" Rex asks as he walks over to his bed, sitting down on it with his elbows resting on his legs.

"I dunno, into the sandstorm, or the petting zoo." The monkey replies in an uninterested kind of way.

"Maybe she's still stalking around in the vents." Rex says in a dramatic voice. "Watching us, getting ready to- Hey! BoBo!" He's suddenly cut off as the monkey, I now know to be called BoBo, throws a banana peel at his face with a splat.

I can't help but crack a smile, not just at the satisfaction of seeing a banana peel being thrown at him, but also because he has no idea that what he's saying is true, and that I'm watching him right now.

"Shut up. It's not like she's gonna eat ya." The BoBo says in an annoyed tone.

Rex swings his legs into his bed, pulling the blanket over him so that it just reaches his eyes. He dramatically surveys the room before turning the lights off.

"'Night" is the last thing I hear him say.


	4. Chapter 4

**In this chapter Kiya gets to treat herself before all the action ruins her day ;3**

 **I think she deserves a nice time before all the drama.**

 **Chapter 4**

Finally!

I look down through the vent at a large kitchen. Many clean and shiny metal surfaces line the room for preparing food. There are sinks, ovens, and more kitchen appliances.

My stomach growls at me again. It hasn't stopped complaining at me _all_ night, and I've been searching for food _all_ night.

I hook my claws around the grate and gently pull it up. It pops out of position and I lay it down softly.

I fall down from the vent and stretch my cramped body. Most of the ventilation shafts have been horribly small, some I couldn't even fit through.

I give a sigh and morph back into my more human form, my feline eyes blinking as they scan the room. Now, where do they keep the food?

My eyes catch on a big white container in the corner of the room. It's large and long, and as I step closer to it I can feel the cold air washing off it.

I curl my fingers under the lip of the lid, which turns out to be considerably heavy. With some effort I swing it upwards, and lean it against the wall.

My stomach growls at me again, and my mouth begins to water. Food! So much food! It's a massive fridge filled with big chunks of juicy meat. There's a huge variety of different animals stuffed in here. Lamb, pork, steak, venison, and god knows what else.

I lean in and wrap my hands around a luxurious looking steak. I heave it out and lug it over to one of the shiny metal surfaces. It hits the surface with a satisfying slap.

Technically, I could eat this raw in my creature form, but it's past midnight and it's been a long time since I've treated myself. Five years to be exact.

I root through a few cupboards and find the necessary seasonings to prepare the meal. In no time the steak is ready and I shove it into one of their massive ovens, setting it to the right temperature.

As I wait for the meat to be done I wander around the kitchen, the mouth-watering aromas following me around. I poke my head into a few other fridges, allot of cupboards, and a couple of freezers.

As I poke my head into another freezer my eyes light down on the food of the gods, and I let out a little squeak of amazement. Ice-cream! My favourite food _ever_.

I reach in and collect a tub of vanilla, carrying it back over to the small section of kitchen I have claimed for myself. I just found myself desert.

Before long the steak is done, and although I don't have much cooking experience, it's not bad if I do say so myself. I mean, after living off scraps for the last five years of my life, this looks like a million dollars. I set it on a plate and grab a knife and fork from a nearby draw.

I take my time enjoying the meal, grateful for every luscious bite.

All too soon it's all gone. I stare down at the empty plate with a pitiful whimper. That is before I remember the ice-cream.

I grab a spoon and then pry open the lid of the tub. I don't bother with bowls and just dig right in. I feel like I'm dining with the gods.

I drop the spoon with a clatter as I finish the whole container. My stomach might not like me later, but right now it's purring.

But I know I will have to move soon. I don't bother tidying up any of my mess, and I lug myself back up into the vents, placing the grate back in its original place. I transform back into my creature form and begin crawling away from the kitchen, dragging my heavy belly along the floor.

I find the closest warm spot and then curl up, purring myself to a dreamless sleep.

I wake up from my fulfilling sleep to a distant metallic banging. It's rhythmic and constant, like foot steps on metal. My eyes clear from their grogginess a bit. Like footsteps? On metal?

I raise my head and listen closer. Indeed it sounds exactly like that, and it thrums through the venting network, steadily coming closer. Somethings' in the vents. Something alive.

Suddenly it stops, not far off. I hear a scratchy voice, that of BoBo the monkey. "Eeeh. I don't think it's in here. We're probably lookin' in the wrong place." His voice echoes through the tight metal labyrinth.

I slowly and cautiously raise my body into a crouching position, expertly placing my paws with absolute silence on the flimsy metal, letting my instincts guide me.

"But this place is massive! Why do I have to do it?" BoBo grumbles. He must be talking through his ear piece.

I softly stalk forward, careful not to make a sound. I follow the sound of his voice to a slightly larger shaft he must've been patrolling. I wait just out of sight at the junction.

I can hear BoBo begin to walk again, talking as he goes. "Yeah, well it's not exactly like I'm gonna find it." He grumbles into his earpiece. Just at that moment he rounds the corner to come face to face with me.

He freezes, his eyes widening.

My eyes lock onto his with an even glare. I stare him down with a quiet confidence, mentally holding him in place with our staring contest. I don't move an inch.

"Well, would ya look at that." He says slowly. "Gooood kitty, nice kitty." He praises as he carefully reaches behind him for one of his guns.

I keep him locked under my unnerving glare as he pulls the gun out from behind him and slowly points it at me. Any sudden movements might cause him to shoot, and I remember how much those bullets stung last time.

He reaches up to his ear piece. "Hey Doc-"

But he doesn't have a chance to finish the sentence. I can't let them know I'm up here. I lung at the chimp with my front two fangs braced, a huge snarl erupting from my jaws.

"AAAEEY!" BoBo yells as he clumsily jumps back and shoots at my with his gun, the bullets penetrating my skin with a stinging sensation. Those stupid, weird, red bullets.

I pull back with a hiss, and he pulls out his second gun. "BAD KITTY!" He yells and shoots at me again. I pull back again, but I pause halfway as I draw upon a sudden burst of energy and lung forward again. It's a purely instinctual defence.

There's no space for him to dodge and I succeed on scraping my fangs across his side.

"OI!" He yells. Why does he have to yell everything? But I can already see the effects of the venom working on him as he lowers his arms and drops his guns. "Hey Doc." He says groggily into he ear piece. "What'd ya say was in those fangs?"

And then he passes out.

I breath a sigh of relief, and then step over to his unconscious body. I hadn't wanted to bite him really, I just needed him to stop shooting. I sigh again, but this time at myself. I shouldn't have bit him. I should have just stayed away.

I can hear a tiny voice emitting from the ear piece. "BoBo? BoBo are you there?" Asks the little squeaky person inside the electronic device.

I groan as my consciousness tells me off. I take the back of his shirt in my mouth and begin to drag him through the ventilation, heading deeper into the building.

I come across a large enough vent, and I don't bother being gentle, I smash down on it with a paw, forcing it downwards so that it bounces against the floor with a loud racket. I then drag the chimp over to the vent and drop him out, not bothering to be gentle with him either.

I jump down next to him to check that he's still breathing. He is.

I'm just about to leap back up into the cramped vent (which I'm getting kinda sick of) when suddenly I hear the slap of feet against the hard floor approaching fast. I look up to see Rex run round a corner, followed closely by the guy in the suit, Six. I see he recovered well.

I freeze, as do the two at the end of the hallway.

Six flicks out the two blades, and they both take stances ready to fight.

I morph into my human form nervously, locking Rex's gaze with mine, careful to keep his focus, willing him to understand me. I step cautiously away from BoBo. "He's alive." I say slowly. "I haven't hurt him." I say pointedly, and hesitantly.

I have to concentrate hard on keeping the fear at bay. I'm scared that the teenager will try to kill me again because I've knocked his friend out.

Rex frowns and opens his mouth as if to say something, but he's cut off by Six.

"You do realise we'll have to take you in regardless." He points out.

I tense. "That's what you think." I say challengingly.

"Oh that's what we know." Rex shoots back with confidence.

The thought of being smashed up against a wall again, struggling to breath, sends shivers down my back and I wince as I let that little bit of fear creep into me. Careful Kiya, careful.

I steady my breathing again, glancing between the two enemies at the end of the hallway nervously. I take a hesitant step back, my muscles taught and ready to spring when I need to run.

Suddenly Rex springs into action charging towards me, his hand transforming into _a giant sword_.

What. The. Hell.

My muscles release their energy and I leg it around another corner, furiously trying to go faster. The thought of being sliced into little bitty pieces is my greatest motivation, followed shortly by the thought of being pricked and prodded with needles by crazy scientists.

It's only as I round a second corner I realise I would be faster as a huge cat. I transform into the EVO, running smoothly down the long hall.

I glance behind me to see that Rex's hand has returned to its normal state. And he's been overtaken by Six, who has phenomenal speed.

His blades scrape against the white floor as he runs ever closer. I can't outrun him, he's too fast, I'll have to face him head on. The long way round.

Instead of turning the next corner, I run straight at the wall. I jump up onto it, using my momentum to run up it as high as I can. I then bounce off the wall and sail over Six's head, landing with complete and utter surprise on top of Rex.

I quickly clamber up and spin around to face Six's deadly swords with a hiss. I notice that Rex rubs his head as he stands up, which cracks my inner smile.

"Oow." Rex complains. "You couldn't just come in peacefully, could you?"

This time I crack a real smile. Just before leaping at him. Fangs extended.

"AaaAaah no, no, no." Rex shouts as he creates a massive metal fist to block me, smacking me away.

Six swerves around Rex's huge hand and brings his swords down on either side of my neck, criss crossing them so that I'm trapped.

Trapped. By my neck. Again.

I yowl and attempt to pull my neck out of the trap, but the sharp edges of the blades dig into my skin and I have to stop with a resentful hiss.

Though some how, I've managed to twist over onto my back.

Rex looks down at me with a smirk. "See, we know."

I change into my human form, my arms crossed over my chest and a frown on my face. "Oh shut up." I growl.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in so long, I haven't been able to reach any internet.**

 **This chapter is allot longer than previous chapters since allot happens, and some important information is discovered, even if you don't realise it. So I hope that makes up for it being so late x3**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 5**

"Y'know, you've really got quiet poor security here." I comment with a smirk. "Considering I was able to escape and hide in the vents for, what? A-"

"Day. You were in there for a day." Rex cuts across.

Rex and Six have managed to get my hands behind my back and cuffed. They still haven't told me where they're taking me this time, and we've been walking through these white halls for a while.

My smile widens. "I would count it as two ." I retaliate.

Six looks across me to Rex. "She's right, she was up there for two."

I grin. "See. I told you."

Rex just scowls. "Yeah, well, we still caught you."

"Y'dont say." I say sarcastically, with a sudden lack of amusement.

I look to the right and notice a large sealed door. Pretty much everywhere in this god forsaken place is clinically clean, and while it can't be called dirty, I notice that this door has a lot more scratches and scruffiness about it.

Interesting.

I stop suddenly, taking Six by surprise as he's the one restraining me. He looks back with a raised eyebrow.

"Just a moment, there's something in the heel of my shoe." I explain casually, crouching down to hook my finger into the back of my trainer, pretending to try and find the cause of my 'problem'.

While I shuffle my finger around absent-mindedly, I glance to the side, looking at the bottom of the large door. I see the marks of boots coming from under the door, the dry dirt staining the floor. I can't think of many reasons for it to be there, except...

"Well, found it?" Rex asks, crossing his arms in an unimpressed way.

I look up at him, annoyed. "Yeah, it's a bit of grit that must've gotten there during the sandstorm, let me just see if I can get it out." I make the most plausible story I can on the spot. It's a total lie as I was in my creature form at the time, so no sand could have gotten into my shoe.

Suddenly there's a sound to my right and the door I was studying opens, a providence grunt exiting the room.

Or half a room. Beyond the soldier I see the deep blue of sky cut through, and fresh air washes over me.

I act in a heart beat.

I quickly remove my finger from my shoe, and hop over my linked arms, so that my cuffed hands are now in front of me. I then duck around the soldier in a split second, running for freedom before the men behind me have any idea what's going on.

I hear the reaction a second later, Rex yelling out and then the hard slap of two sets of feet hard on my heels, followed shortly by a third. I don't need to look behind. It's Six, Rex, and the soldier.

But I can't think about them, I focus solely on the wide exit before me. I can almost feel myself running beyond some sort of invisible barrier between providence and the outside world as I run out into the open, the adrenaline coursing through my body causing me to run faster out into the dusty expanse.

There's a harsh wind, despite the storm being long gone by now, and the sand whips up into my face, but I don't care. All I can focus on is running forward.

There's some mechanical noises from behind me, and I glance back only to see that the kid has conjured up a _motorbike_ from _thin air._ What the hell next? He's gonna grow a pair of wings?

I turn to look ahead of me again, pumping my legs faster, but I can hear Rex catching up with me fast. A second later he's right next to me.

I glance across at him, and he turns his head to me. He's pulled his goggles down, but I can imagine the determination that must be in his eyes. He never gives up, I'll give him that.

Just as he looks like he's about to ram me over, the whole world seems to turn into a swirling mess of black and red.

What the hell?

But before I can process any of this I tumble out of the mess onto a soft, muddy ground. I stumble forward a few steps and then regain my balance.

I straighten up and look around me. I'm in a dark, dense forest of dead trees. The sky is dark and fowl looking, but then again, everything is.

Rex appears next to me, the bike instantly receding into his legs. I mean, tell me that's not creepy.

I decide to ignore this and look around me again. "Where are we?" I ask . "And how did we get here?"

"Abysus, Breach must have teleported us here." Rex answers instantly.

I turn to Rex with a raised eyebrow. "Oh? Familiar with this place are we?" I can just imagine him coming from a place like here. He'd fit right in.

"Unfortunately." He answers, grimacing.

"Oh really? Well, what sort of attractions do you have around here? Arcade, theme park, castle, shops?" I ask squinting through the trees. "Haunted house?" I add on the most likely kind of amusement around here.

"Well, we have a castle." Comes a new voice from within the trees. Out of nowhere a man with long hair floats gracefully out of the forest with the trees bending into an archway for him like a bloody depressing fairy. His left hand seems to be encased by metal. Or replaced by. "But we're still working on the rest." He finishes.

I turn to him slowly. "And you are?..." I ask hesitantly, completely taken back by the scene. Things just got really weird.

"Van Kleiss." Rex growls before the man can answer for himself.

I look to Rex and then back to Van Kleiss. "Not friends then, I take it." I say, taking in Rex's unfriendly reaction.

"Ah, Rex is just having trouble making his mind up, that's all. I'm sure that when he realises where he truly belongs all disagreements will be resolved." Van Kleiss explains smoothly.

Rex groans in frustration. "When will you get this through your thick skull. I'm not joining you."

"Of coarse Rex, you just keep thinking that."

Rex groans again, a bit more dramatically than before. He brings his hand up to smack his forehead in a frustrated gesture.

"Soooo..." I step in, seeing my opportunity to get some answers "Why am I here?" I ask this Van Kleiss guy.

"Why Kiya! Your here so that I can offer you a place in our family." He says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world, opening his arms in a welcoming gesture.

I step back in surprise. "How do you know my name?" I ask in shock. I haven't told anyone my name, not even the people from providence. How does he know it?

He smiles. "I used to know your father Kiya. He played a big role in the nanite event." He explains lightly, but I can feel the heaviness behind his words. He's an impressive speaker, and I can imagine he lies very smoothly, but I have not yet met anyone able to slip past me.

"I see..." I start, the mistrust easily recognisable in my voice. "So, is that what earns me such a generous offer?" I ask. I doubt he would approach me like this just because he knew my father. My sixth sense is suddenly awake and giving me some very bad feelings. I don't trust this man one bit.

"Of course! We could help you here, you would be welcome. Us EVO's have to join together. The human race will not accept us, you must know that. You must know what it feels like to be rejected."

There's a stab in my stomach. Yes. I do.

The whisper in the back of my head is back again, telling me that I belong with these EVO's. I look at Van Kleiss. He looks very capable of commanding soldiers around, and I would probably be very safe with him.

But I don't trust him.

Suddenly Rex speaks up. "I wouldn't trust him if I were you. Van Kleiss isn't the good guy here." He says, dead serious.

I give him a withering look. "I don't, and I already figured." I say obviously. "Now could you let me get back to my manipulating?" I ask. It's sarcastic of course, as Rex has successfully blown it.

Thanks Rex.

I turn back to Van Kleiss with a wide grin. "Now where were we?" I ask nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened. I don't expect him to carry on though.

Van Kleiss only smiles. "Sorry Kiya, but your going to have to stay here. Along with Rex of course." He says as multiple EVO's appear out of the trees to surround us. Of course.

I grit my teeth together, taking a step backwards into the centre of the steadily closing circle. I pull against the cuffs still around my hands, testing to see if I can get them off, but they hold firm. "This is your fault." I point out to Rex matter-of-factly.

"What? This is _not_ my fault." He says defensively. He takes a step back as a messed-up looking wolf on two legs begins to advance.

"If you could have just kept your mouth shut I could have gotten out fine." I say angrily, also taking a step back as a huge ugly lizard with diamonds poking out of him closes in on me.

"How was I supposed to know what you were doing?" He asks in frustration. Suddenly the wolf launches at him, deadly looking claws prepared to slash. Rex creates huge robotic _feet_ to _kick_ the wolf with as he jumps backwards. This guy is weird.

He stops and the mechanical legs break away. "We're getting out of here." He says decisively as I jump backwards to avoid great big glittery rocks the lizard chucks at me.

There's the sound of more mechanics and I spin on my heel to see what he's created this time. I stop in shock. Well I'll be damned. He's grown a pair of wings.

Great big orange wings with thrusters on either end of them. Then I process what he just said.

He looks at me and my eyes widen. "No. No, no, no. There's no way I'm doing this. I like my feet on the ground thank you very much." I say in a panicked voice.

"Sorry, but it's not up for debate." He says shortly, pulling his goggles down over his eyes, and then his wings whir into action. In a split second he's in the air, just dodging the wolf again.

And then he's coming towards me. "Rex, no." I say quickly, and I attempt to move away from him, but the big, ugly lizard stops me. I'm forced towards Rex by massive diamonds. "Rex, no. No, no, Rex, no." I keep on saying.

But then, suddenly, I can feel firm arms wrap around my chest. "Like I said, were not debating this." He says as we begin to hurtle away from the ground.

And then the fear finally breaks through. "REX!" I scream in a mixture of terror and pain. I have to fight the creature trying to tear it's way out of me. My skin tears as I begin to morph. But I fight it, forcing the creature back. I'm succeeding for a few seconds, but then I look down and see how far away the ground is and the creature gets the upper hand. I yell out in pain.

"Calm down." Rex says into my ear. "I'm not going to drop you." His voice is oddly calm.

"Not helping." I growl as I imagine plummeting towards the earth. I grit my teeth and let out a hitched scream as the pain explodes through my body.

Then we're moving, and everything just gets worse. "Put me down Rex!" I yell as the pain increases a notch. The creature is fighting it's way out. And it's winning.

In case you haven't noticed, I don't do heights.

"Not an option right now." His voice is strained.

Then suddenly there's noise. Everywhere. I massive, ear-splitting noise like thousands of screaming animals. It fills my ears and pierces my brain. It hurts. Allot.

I want to bring my hands up and clap them over my ears, but the cuffs stop me. Instead I clamp my eyes shut, as if that would do something to stop the noise. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't. The sound is so loud I can feel it hitting me from the left, smashing into my body. Noise has never done _that_ to me before.

Rex falters in his flight, struggling against the sound. Fear grabs me again, and pain flourishes across my body.

And then the sound is gone. The relief is so great that I forget that I'm supposed to be scared right now. I also forget to question _what the_ _hell_ that was. All my muscles relax, I feel exhausted. My eyes are still closed, but I can feel the wind cutting across my face, feel the momentum of moving through the air.

It brings me back to my senses. My eyes shoot open, and the first thing I see is the ground shooting below me in a blur of earthy colours, my feet dangling in the air. I can feel a scream worming its way up my throat, but I close my mouth before it can escape, so instead it comes out as a strained squeal.

My heart rate sky rockets, pain steadily increasing as I try to fight down the fear of smashing into the ground from this height.

And then I remember why I'm flying through the air at this speed, suddenly aware of arms held tightly around my chest and the whirring sound of the wings.

"Rex..." I start in a strained voice, eyeing the ground that is going far too fast "Could we, maybe, I dunno, go put our feet back where they belong?" I ask tentatively.

I can practically feel the cockiness coming from him. "Where's that?" He asks, probably with a stupid smirk I would love to slap off his face if I could reach.

"Put me on the ground right now Rex." I order.

"Why should I?" He asks. "So you can go run off?"

"So that you don't have to end up holding a very dangerous big kitten." I practically yell at him as I start to feel my grasp over my fear slip.

"That's a pretty fair point." Rex says with sudden realisation. He begins to bank towards the ground, slowly carving a path through the air towards a low stone cliff jutting out of a thick forest.

As I watch the ground get closer, my fear subsides, relief taking its place. Rex slows as we reach the ground, and my feet finally reach stability. Once I'm standing, Rex lets go and lands next to me, his wings disappearing.

As I take my own weight again I find that my legs feel like their made of jelly. I fall sideways as my legs give way beneath me, not able to find the energy the energy to stay up right. I want to catch myself, but the cuffs around my hands stop me.

A hand closes around my upper arm, firmly stabilising me. I look up as Rex pulls me back onto me feet. "Woah, are you ok?" He asks as he hesitantly lets go of my arm.

I wobble for a moment, but then find my balance. I plant my feet on the ground with more stability. "Yeah, I'm fine." I hesitate for a moment. "Thanks." I add on in a quieter voice. I don't particularly want to be thanking him for anything, but my conscience doesn't give me much choice.

Rex just nods and then looks out across the dead looking land. "We're still in Abysus, We can't stay here long." He says looking back at me.

I raise my eyebrows. "Oh no. I'm _not_ flying again." I say raising my hands defensively. They don't really have the desired effect though, as their linked together.

Rex smirks, folding his arms over his chest. "Well how do you suggest we get out of here?" He asks.

I pause. How _am_ I gonna get out of here? After what went down back there, I doubt I'm going to be very safe walking around Abussys with Van Kleiss and all those EVO's now angry at me. I _might_ be able to stay low and sneak my way out, but it would take me days, and there's no guarantee it would work. And there is absolutely no way I'm flying with Rex again.

The latter is currently watching me with a stupid smirk on his face as he waits for me to come up with some sort of an answer. Which I don't have.

I stand there looking stupid for a few moments before he speaks again. "See, you're going to have to fly." He reasons.

"No." I say instantly. "There's no way I'm going through that again. I'll end up killing you before you leave the ground." I warn hurriedly. The flying thing is not going to happen.

Rex looks like he's about to say something, but then he pauses, raising a hand to his ear. It must be his earpiece. Someone must be talking to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just had some trouble with Van Kleiss." He answers back to whatever question was asked. He pauses as he listens again. "Yeah..." He glances in my direction and I get the distinct feeling that had something to do with me. "I can try..." He finishes as he lowers his hand and turns to me.

He looks me in the eyes, his expression serious. "Providence is coming to pick me up, they'll be here in a few minutes."

I tense. He said that they're coming to pick him up, but I know that they'll be wanting to retrieve me as well. And he knows.

"I'm not going back." I tell him firmly.

"Where else are you gonna go?" He asks, folding his arms. "We're still in Abysus, Van Kleiss could find you in a day."

I harden my gaze. "I guess I'm just going to have to try."

I turn on my heel and begin walking down the steep slope before he can protest. "I'm not going back." I say through gritted teeth as I pull against the cuffs around my wrists with a ridiculous amount of determination. They're well made, and it's obvious they're not going to break just because Im trying to pull my hands apart.

I give a frustrated groan and then give up, slumping my shoulders. I trudge unusually heavily down the hill to make a point of my resentment of the whole situation.

"Hey, wait!" Rex calls from behind me and I hear his footsteps come down the hill towards me as he runs.

I don't look back. I'm sick of him and his providence messing with my already messy life. None of this would have happened if it weren't for him.

I'm broken from my grumbling thoughts by a hand on my shoulder. I freeze, my muscles tensing.

"You can't go out there." He says.

"I'm not going back." I repeat solidly, yanking my shoulder away from his grasp and walking into the dead forest without looking back.

 _I'm not going back._


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry this has taken so long guys, but my collage work sort of gave me a mental block :I**

 **But it's here now! :D**

 **Chapter 6**

The murky sky above has begun to dim, turning from a patchwork of greys into a slow gradient of black. The darkness only makes the trees around me feel closer, tightly packed on both sides surrounding a loose trail.

I can't think of what could have made the thin trail as it seems dubious that any wildlife could live within such a dead land. The most I've seen is a couple of messed-up looking birds.

I peer through the gaps in the trees but find nothing but darkness to tell me where I might be heading. I would say I'm lost, but I didn't know where I was when I started walking anyway, so I'm not sure what to call this situation.

"Y'know, maybe we should go back to that big cliff and wait for providence? That might be a better idea than wandering around Abysus waiting for Van Kleiss and the Pack to find us."

Annoying. That's what I should call this situation. Annoying.

Rex seems to have decided to follow me, for whatever reason, and now he won't shut up.

"They're not going to find us." I tell him calmly as I climb over a fallen tree that's blocking the path, although hindered by the cuffs binding my hands. I land heavily on the other side, taking the wait evenly with a sturdy stance.

I don't really know that, I'm just saying things to make him shut up.

Which he won't.

"Look, Van Kleiss is apart of Abysus, he basically is Abysus, he'll find us in no time." Rex argues as he clambers over the tree, landing unevenly and nearly losing his balance. I decide to ignore him and his crazy ideas, and just carry on down the trail.

Then something shifts. It's not physical, but I feel it. Something has changed, something about the atmosphere. I pause, and I hear Rex stop behind me.

"There's someone here." I say in a hushed voice. I know there's someone here because my sixth sense is telling me there's someone here. Someone on edge, with purpose. The air is tense and focused.

"What? I don't see anyone. How do you know?" Rex asks equally as quiet as he moves round to my side.

I don't see anyone either, so where are they? "I just... Know." I explain hesitantly. That probably makes me sound crazy.

Rex looks at me and crosses his arms. "How can you just 'know'?"

I don't answer as I focus more on my sixth sense. I haven't used it for a while, so it takes more effort than it used to in order to find the direction that this edgy feeling is coming from. It takes me a few moments, but I find that it's concentrated just ahead of us.

"This is crazy, there's no one here. Can we just go back and wait for provi..." Rex begins loudly, but then trails off. I look over at him, confused, to find him staring down the path.

"What?" I ask in a harsh whisper. I've just about had enough of Rex. "You just get weirder and-"

I'm cut off by a hand over my mouth. _His_ hand over _my_ mouth.

I give a muffled yell of complaint from behind his hand. I try to jerk away, experience on the streets making me highly resistant to people touching me. Especially if they put their hand over your mouth. But instead of letting go, like I had wanted him to, he drags me sideways so that we're squished into the shadows of the thick dark forest.

He frowns and looks around a tree onto the path with a look of concentration. I frown and look down at his hand wondering why it's still over my mouth.

Too close. Way too close.

I bring my bound hands up hesitantly to tap his hand with a finger to get his attention. He looks at me with confusion for a moment, then with realisation as he lets go. I give him a glare before peering onto the path. What the hell is going on? What's got him so concerned?

There, on the trail we were on just a second ago, stands the large wolf on two legs. Now that I'm not so focused on staying alive, I can get a better look at the terrifying looking mutt. It appears to be part mechanical, but mostly organic. It's long claws look deadly, each one about the size of my arm. I wouldn't want to mess with it.

It's gaze sweeps across the tree line, and as it nears us we both somehow step deeper into the darkness. It's now that I realise that this EVO is the one that has the edgy, focused energy. He seems tense, and also looking for something.

Us. He's looking for us. Of course he is.

He finishes his sweep and then begins to move down the trail. He's surprisingly quiet as he disappears around a corner.

I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. It's only then I remember that in order to fit between the tightly packed trees, I have been forced to squash up between the rough bark of a gnarled tree and Rex's side. In the cool air of the night I can feel his body heat pressing through the fabric of my hoodie. Panic twists through my stomach and pain flares through my chest, and I know it's because I simply _cannot_ be in such close proximity to anyone.

With ought even a second of thought I pull to the side, squeezing past the body which is far too close and stumble onto the now empty path. A shiver goes down my spine that has _nothing_ to do with the cold now taking the place of where _he_ was previously pressed up against my right side. Absolutely nothing.

I spin around to see him walking out of the shadow of the trees, and suddenly realise that my rushed actions probably appeared pretty weird. I straighten up again and cough a little in a weak attempt to regain some of my dignity. "There was, a, um, there was a spider." I say 'casually', pointing absently with my linked hands at the trees behind him.

His eyes widen just a second before he jumps the last bit out of the trees, spinning around to looking back at the darkness. He stumbles back into me. "What?! Where?!" He asks while yelling.

I give him a shove from behind as his back collides with my hands. "Woah, calm down. It looks like it's gone." I tell him as he falls forwards.

He regains his balance and eyes the trees for a moment before turning back to me. "Let's... Keep moving?" He suggests, his eyes flicking slightly back to the forest.

I give him an amused smile and then turn to continue down the path. "Yeah sure." I say as I walk away.

He quickly hurries after me, jogging to catch up before falling into step next to me. "Do you even know where your going?" He asks me as he glances behind us.

"Not a clue" I reply promptly as I look over at him. "But my reasoning is that if I keep on walking for long enough I'll eventually reach the border." I say.

" _Or_ , we could just stay here and wait for providence to pick us up." Rex suggests.

Give out a small laugh. "Or _you_ could stay here and wait for providence to pick _you_ up." I say.

"But-"

"No Rex, we're not discussing this." I cut him off with a tone of finality.

He crosses his arms sulkily but doesn't say anything more.

I just keep on walking.

"I'm hungry." Rex grumbles.

We've been walking for a few hours now. I'm surprised Rex hasn't just left me and gone back to providence.

"Oh get over yourself." I growl. If I am hungry, I'm too used to it to notice or care.

I pause as I spot movement further ahead on the path. We've had to avoid allot of EVO's over the past few hours, hiding in the trees so that we're not spotted. But I've been making sure to hide in separate spots to Rex. I will not be repeating events.

"I'm tired of hiding. Can't we just beat them up?" Rex asks with a tone weariness. He's spotted the movement too.

I raise an eyebrow at him. "The commotion would attract EVOs from miles around. And this place is swarming with them." I point out.

Rex groans in reply.

"Stop complaining. You can go back to your providence buddies any time you like, I'm not exactly keeping you here. In fact I would rather you did." I tell him.

"I've got orders to bring you back in. I can't just leave." He says.

I raise my eyebrows. "You've got _orders_? Christ, is this why you won't leave me alone?" I ask in the exasperation.

"Well... Sort of... I mean." He struggles to explain. "I don't always follow orders but... I was... Worried?" It's more of a question than a statement.

"Worried?" I ask in deadpan. "Is that the best you can come up with?"

"Hey, that is _not_ a bad excuse!" He says defensively, pointing a finger at me.

"That is a terrible excuse!" I exclaim. In the back of my head a thought bubbles up. _Excuse for what?_

But before I get to ask a noise breaks through our bickering. A beastly roar coming from up the path. While we were discussing the validity of excuses, the EVO from up the path finally came down the path. And found us.

It's a strange creature, a dark red-brown in colour, with horns protruding forwards from its 'head' and surrounding a mouth lined with teeth. It's body looks like maybe a horse's or cow's, except bare and hairless. It's a rather common EVO, but no less dangerous, and it's got buddies.

I groan in frustration. Today just hasn't been my day. "Looks like you got what you wanted." I tell Rex dejectedly.

He just grins and produces his giant metal hands. I still can't stop the thought of them wrapping around my neck slipping into my head, but I just turn to face the EVOs and push the thought back. I need to concentrate on the task at hand.

When the first one finally reaches us, Rex smashes it's head into the ground with a metal fist. There's a sickening crunching sound, and I'm pretty certain it's not getting back up. But I have no more time to think about Rex's fight as a second EVO approaches me.

I jump lightly out of the way when it charges at me, landing softly as I turn to face it while it curves a path to charge at me again. I feel a slight stinging on my upper arm, but don't have time to fully register it. This time when it nears me, I jump up and, in midair, switch into the dark creature that rules my other half. The cuffs that bound my hands together break apart, making me wonder for half a second why I didn't try that ages ago.

The EVO seems to startle, and falters in its charge. I come down to land heavily on its back, my claws digging into its skin as I cling on. It panics and begins to run wildly in a random direction while twisting in erratic movements as an attempt to throw me off, but it's too late. I sink my fangs into its side, large and small puncture the skin and the deadly venom is released into its blood. It stumbles and then falls forward, body colliding with the ground. I leap off it and land comfortably on the ground, not having to turn around to hear it's pained wails. It will not survive the toxins.

I turn to face Rex, who is struggling with the remaining three EVOs. He's holding one back with a giant hand, another with a giant foot, and is pummelling the last one with his free hand.

I run up to the one he's holding back with his foot and leap onto its side in a similar style to the last one, claws tearing into its thick skin to hook me in place. This one is quicker as I bite down into its shoulder before it has time to react. It stumbles to the ground, and I spin around to see Rex bashing the last two's heads together with his metal hands.

They fall to the floor with two simultaneous thumps.

I turn back into my human form. "Other EVOs will have heard us, we need to get out of here." I say shakily. I'm breathing heavily, and only now I notice the searing pain from a nasty looking gash on my upper arm that must have been conflicted when the EVO charged at me the first time. I bring a hand up and clasp it, wincing as I do so.

"We need to fly." Rex says.

"No." I say.

I cross my arms and glare at him, locking him in a firm gaze.

"Oh come _on_. We need to get out of here and flying is the easiest way."

"Not when you're carrying a heavy, terrified cat that could knock you out with a single bite it isn't."

He just gawks at me. "But... We... You... What?" He's obviously frustrated, but I simply raise an eyebrow. "Okay." He says, defeated. "We won't fly, but we're not getting out of here on foot."

"Wh-"

But before I can get a single word out, his legs transform into big, metal, motorbike... Thing. He snaps the goggles he wears on his head down over his eyes, then points his thumb over his back to the space on the bike behind him. "C'mone, we're getting out of here."

"Eeeeh." I look at the bike hesitantly. "Y'know, I'm pretty sure I would be more comfortable just running out of here. In my creature form I can run for a really long time, you'd be surprised." I say nervously, trying to get out of sitting on the back of the most unsafe looking vehicle of all time. That is, after anything that flies of course.

"Oh, will you just-" he stops mid sentence and fires up his dangerous looking bike. He turns it and starts to drive towards me.

"Woah Rex, wait-" I yell, but before I can finish he drives by me and loops an arm around my waist, pulling me off the ground and into his side. He then twists and throws me behind him onto the back of his bike.

I instinctively throw myself forwards and wrap my arms around his chest, clinging on for dear life. The dead forest I was previously comfortably standing in blends into a big streak of black and brown as we speed past it. It makes me feel sick. Close my eyes and press my head on to Rex's back as I try not to think about how fast we're going, and concentrate on staying calm as pain seeps through my body.

The only thing I can say I proudly did was not scream.

"Like I said, we're getting out of here." Rex says firmly, his voice near enough for me to know that if I were in any other situation I would feel highly uncomfortable about it. But as it is I'm feeling highly uncomfortable about enough other things not to care.

"And right into providence." I grumble into his jacket. He must've heard me, as I feel him laugh, and faintly hear it.

I don't know how long I was clinging on for, my eyes tightly shut as I tried not to let fear get the better of me and pain came and went in waves, but I know it was for a long time.

And then at some point Rex speaks up, talking loudly so that I can hear it through the constant sound of wind in my ears. "So, what did Van Kleiss mean about your dad?"

There's a twisting sensation in my stomach, and I stiffen on impulse. My throat suddenly seems tight, but I manage to get my hesitant words out anyway. "I... Don't know."

I take a fearful glance from behind my closed eye and look up at Rex. I get the feeling he noticed my unease.

"So you don't know if it's true or not?"

"No."

We fall into silence. All I can hear now is the constant whistle of the wind as it batters around my ears.

Then we start to slow, and the wind gradually disappears as we come to a stop. "There, we're outside of Abyssus now." Rex says and sits a little straighter.

I rise my head for the first time since he put me on this hell ride, and see a large, open field. The grass is scarce, but the fact that it's there says allot. I don't waste anymore time taking in the view and quickly jump off of the bike, eager to get away from Rex and all of his horrible creations. "Let's never do that again."

Rex laughs, and then the bike recedes back into his legs. "All of that was your fault." He points out with a cocky grin, crossing his arms confidently.

"Wha- how was that my fault?!" I ask in soft shock. I'm still sort of recovering from the bike ride, which had a fair few shocks of its own, so I'm finding it hard to be shocked by much more at the moment.

"If you hadn't tried to run off, none of this would have happened." He explains.

I just gawk at him. I can't even put my thoughts into words. How can he blame me for running off?! I wasn't just going to go in peacefully to a permanent prison!

I shake my head in disbelief and laugh. "You're ridiculous." I simply say.

If at all possible, his grin widens.

I pause as I hear a familiar sound. The suddenly close engines of a providence plane. I look up and see one not far off, heading our way with speed. They're here to pick up Rex. And me.

Rex looks up at the plane, and then to me. "Hey, look, no one at providence will hurt you. Just... Come with us. We can help you." He says sincerely.

I know it's sincere because I can feel it. And as honest as he is being, and as much as he means it, it won't change anything for me. I give a faint smile, and start to turn away. "Sorry Rex, but providence will only be a prison."

I turn and walk away a bit, but then pause and look back. The providence plane is coming in to land, and Rex seems about ready to start running after me. My softly curved mouth suddenly widens and turns into a wicked smile, a small glint of my amusement breaking through. "Don't worry, something tells me we'll meet again soon." I tell him before turning back to the open fields.

I shift into my creature form, and the old feeling of the wild energy from the beast pumps through my veins, the pain from my arm and from the fear forgotten. I stretch out my legs and begin to run. It starts as an uneven lope as I get used to the long legs again, before the natural feeling comes back to me and I even out into a thrilling sprint. The wild animal inside of me breaks through and the exhilaration takes over.

Rex and providence are far behind and I'm still running, enjoying my new found freedom for the time being. I burn off the energy and release all of my tensions.

But as I run, a single thought stays at the back of my head. I know that after all of the running, I've got work to do.


End file.
